Worth a Thousand Years of Memory
by ArzanianJoy
Summary: They were kings... but were they human? Whispers of a prophecy, the start of a war on the horizon and the inevitable hand of Fate drawing all that much closer. A King, three princes, a few soldiers, a touch of love, two spoonfuls of magic, a tidbit of adventure and that's all you need for a whirlwind that will take the world by storm. A Millennium suddenly seems so short...
1. The Start of Something New

_**~ Worth a Thousand Years of Memory ~**_

**| Summary |**

_They were Kings but all men are created equal beneath the stars. Their destiny had been penned long before they were born and now they were called to fulfill their duty. The Millennium palace is now tense with anticipation. With their enemies lurking just around corners, this sacred matrimony will be a millennium legend._

**| Rating/Genre |**

_Written for a teenage audience_

_Fallen under the genres of fantasy, romance, action, possibly hurt/comfort, suspense and some mystery_

**| Pairing(s) |**

_Yugi x Yami | Heba (oc) x Atem | Marik x Akefia (Thief King Bakura) | Seth (Seto) x Jounouchi | Ryou x ? (secret)_

_**~ Chapter One ~**_

**| Warnings |**

_Alternate universe, homosexual relationships, alpha/beta theme, original plot, male pregnancy, (more to be added along the way)_

**| Author's Note |**

_This is a rewrite of _Millennium Output_ which can still be found on my profile. This will be no fairytale romance, beware. There will be war and death, over powered characters, prophecies, representation of deities and the omnipresent. This will be neither tragic nor comic, it will be a dark-light read with swift shifts between moods._

_**~ The Start of Something New ~**_

"My king?" the smooth voice was lisped with a silky undertone which told of the speaker's influence from those of common upbringing. However, the light purple gaze which lifted from the ground at the low rumble of approval from his superior revealed more than just his noble birth but also his familial relations to the royal line.

This was Marik of the Ishtar family and he bore the lone responsibility of the security of his home country. He was the second cousin to the most trusted monarch of Millennium and the proud sibling of Ryou and Isis Ishtar, both of whom were highly coveted master healers.

Drawing himself up to a full stand, his languid muscles visibly contracted underneath the thin silk of his official dress as he did so, "The delegates of Sen have entered the castle, I shall personally escort them."

A soft chuckle stopped him from continuing on and he looked up at the man seated upon the throne. The young king was dressed alluringly in royal purples and a black cape draped over his form with a matching veil wrapped over his nose, covering the lower half of his face from view. "Marik," his name fell from his king's lips like sinful honey, "You are family. There is no need for formality between us. When will you outgrow your stubbornness?"

Marik's instincts were honed incredibly, far beyond that of an ordinary alpha, due to the many years of training he had enforced upon himself and he could almost taste the amusement drafting from his king's form. Brushing an imaginary fleck of dust from the shoulder of his cloak, he pursed his lips into a firm frown as he was hard pressed not to smile in response and drawled, "You are a king, my lord, it would be unacceptable of me to call you by name."

The king laughed and the sound echoed throughout the room pleasantly. Shifting his weight onto one elbow, he leaned to one side and tilted his head to send a fleeting glance at the man seated at his side. "Heba," he called with amethyst eyes glittering humorously, "Do you not think it is more insubordinate to disobey a king's order?"

Slightly lighter eyes gazed back at him from above a similar veil also shining with amusement. "Why," Heba drew out the word with a teasing drawl as he mirrored his brother's pose, "I do believe so. Don't you, Commander Marik?"

The royal brothers shared a look and peered down at their cousin with everything mischievous and deviant reflected in their eyes. Although their faces were masked behind veils, there was no doubt that they wore matching smirks as well.

"Very well," Marik returned their gaze with a gently teasing glint in his own eyes that belied his internal stance on the matter. Turning with a dramatic sweep of his cloak, he tossed over his shoulder without looking at the brothers directly, "I shall return momentarily, _Yugi."_

_~ the throne room ~_

Today was a special day even for kings and nobles as it marked the meeting of the royal brothers and their future mates. The council stood in full assembly and at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the platform stood two guards. They each held their drawn swords at a diagonal to deny access up the padded stairwell. Standing motionlessly, they resembled inanimate statues due to the endless hours spent in practice for this very moment.

A solid knock sounded out on the grand doors thrice in a row ad they were drawn open easily from the other side, two lines of soldiers spilling forth swiftly to stand on either side of the entrance. One by one, they drew their swords and held them facing downward, palms resting atop each other on the decorative hilts.

By this time, all traces of Heba and Yugi's prior amusement had been drained from the atmosphere to be replaced with one of thick anticipation. They were alpha kings and, if a sudden chilling dread filled the air in reaction to their spilling auras, no one was willing to speak of it. Two pairs of unreadable eyes turned to the door as they inevitably focused in on the sound of footsteps quickly approaching their domain.

This was the sound of their future.

With all the grace of a feline predator, the general swept regally into the room with his face set in metaphorical stone. The entire room seemed to hold a collective breath as he strolled purposefully down the walkway lined by guards. He suddenly stopped and lifted his arm, spinning back in such a motion that his cloak fanned out like a curtain being pulled away from the doors, "Presenting his highness prince Atem and prince Yami of Sen accompanied by Lord Seth."

Two males entered immediately after and their identical features identified them as siblings quickly. Brothers though they were, they gave off the distinct impression that all the pigment of one half had been leached by the other since the difference between their tones was so enormous.

Of the two, the lighter skinned brother maintained a calm exterior and narrowed crimson eyes took in the foreign land rather impassively. His pale body was adorned eloquently in a slim white robe lined in silver thread and a dark sash was wrapped around his waist once then draped over his left shoulder. His bare arms were decked in gold and silver bracelets, several of them sliding against each other with his every step.

His hair began in the deepest shade of black and seemed to slowly burn down to a fiery crimson, the colors highlighted by the shimmering threads incorporated into the braid that trailed down his chest. A single strand was extracted from the braid and it ran jaggedly down below his jaw, its unusually blond coloring likening it to a lightning bolt snatched straight from the sky.

The darker toned sibling wore a slightly less impassive expression, his darker eyes swiftly roaming from one end to the other with unease and curiosity. His robe was also white but lined with gold and a braided golden rope wrapped his waist, a dark cloak settled over his shoulders. The black, red and golden mane he sported had been seemingly wrestled under the hold of a thick cord which did little to tame its vibrant spirit, blond bolts framing either side of his face.

Behind the two betas, their accompanying alpha stalked imperiously after them with a fierce scowl touching his lips. Ice cold eyes touched upon everything that even dare twitch in his presence with a chilling glare. His brown hair had been cut smoothly to accent his sharp features, clean and to the point. His robes were a classy blue that accented his unusually tall stature and he came to a halt behind the brothers, his enigmatic form both towering over them and seemingly enveloping them at the same time.

A pair of unarmed knights brought up the rear and they stilled just inside the doors turning to complete the ensemble of soldiers on either side of the entryway.

Drawing his sword in an elegant arc, Marik laid the tip on the ground and folded his hands over the elaborately engraved hilt. The reaction of his subordinates was immediate, the soldiers dropping unto their left knees in mirrored pairs. In practiced unison, each guard swung his sword over the back of his wrist to rotate the blade vertically upward.

The collective breath was released as one when Yugi rose to his feet and all eyes migrated to him as his magnetic aura drew their attention away from the military display. With a silent glance towards his general, he descended the stairs as though he were merely floating and came to relaxed stop only a few meager steps from his cousin.

"Welcome to Millennium Palace," he watched the brothers for their reactions to him and felt his lips twitch upward at the corners under his mask, "the banquet will begin shortly."

_~ Marik ~_

As the commanding general of the entire royal army, a certain level of strength, strategical excellence and skill was expected of him, and Marik accepted these expectations as a mere challenge, one which he doubled once he had realized they were far too _weak_ for him to strive toward. He wore his battle scars proudly like the medals that they were, each marking a battle fought and a battle won.

Though he was strict and pushed a high regime on his men, Marik completed each training alongside his soldiers and rose the bar to nearly triple for himself. It seemed to both raise morale and beseech the soldiers towards their stoic captain. He was rather well liked and there was not a single man amongst them that would even entertain the thought of disobeying him.

As if he were merely a gardener and they were his roses, Marik was capable of turning any soldier put under his command into someone formidable enough to be feared upon the battlefield. _Marik the Violet Eye_ was an invaluable asset to Millennium as a commander and as a teacher.

There were few talented soldiers that he hadn't heard about in his career and this was why he stood behind his king, spinning a knife round and round his finger in frustration. Glaring at the two men standing on the opposite wall, he tossed the short sword into the air once and caught it with the appropriate sheath, leaning back into the shadows as he forcibly drew back his temper. He'd figure out why the aura of a slayer was coming from those knights.

_~ Seth ~_

Lord Seth, as he would continue to insist on being called, was _very_ unhappy. If that wasn't already obvious by his detrimental frown and soul searing glare, then the thick black aura of undisguised blood lust wafting around him would be a definite clue into his state of mind. He _should_ be back at the castle in Sen (_where he belonged_, the thought wormed its way back to the forefront of his skull) working on the massive amount of paperwork that would no doubt be stacked high by the time he was allowed to return.

A low growl rumbled from the base of his throat at this thought, he absolutely _loathed_ being backed up on paperwork for it was one of the beasts that remained unconquerable in this world. Sending his cousins a glare that would have sent lesser men running for the hills, he stabbed his eating utensil into the lavish meat settled upon his plate in a live demonstration of what he wished to do to the poor man that suggested him as the alpha to oversee the engagement.

There would be pain and suffering upon his return, and this was a vow that had many servants in Sen suddenly shudder in fear. There were plenty of other dominant males with the appropriate rank and requirements to take his place but the king had merely said with a lighthearted smile full to the brim with blinding cheer, _"What a wonderful idea."_

_What a wonderful idea indeed,_ the positively seething noble thought to himself, _I will show you just what I think of this "wonderful" idea of yours._ Granted, he couldn't do much more than glower and make life miserable for those who were unlucky enough to work with him but that would be enough to appease his temper. Misery had a fondness for company after all.

_~ Heba ~_

Prince Heba valued family above all else. Most would immediately assume that this was due to the premature death of his and Yugi's parents. While he never denied it verbally, they could be no further from the truth.

He was typically envisioned as a quiet man with a keen knack for observation and a not-so-secret love for things that were pleasing to the eye. His office had been decorated elegantly in earthy tones and built to oversee the gardens which were well kept and pristine for that purpose. He was often thought to be the levelheaded one out of the two brothers and some even wished his ascension to the throne.

But, buried underneath this calm exterior lied the truth, and a simple truth it really was.

Heba was merely a deeply possessive man. Although this trait may have been common amongst his alpha peers, it ran much stronger in his blood. Once he had staked his claim, there was no going back and that was the end of it; they was _his._ And so far, he had claimed four men as his family.

His king and brother, the man to share his mother's womb and the man he had watched flourish. Marik, his cousin whom he had stood beside through all the sweat and blood and tears that got him where he was. Ryou, the lonely healer that looked up at him with wide doe eyes and always gave him the kindest of smiles. And Jou, the puppy-like beta that had followed his brother home one day and won him over with his ability to smile despite the life he had left behind.

They were the four men that made up his world, they were _his_ and they were the four he would die for. But most likely worst of all, they were the four people he would _kill_ for. But now, gazing across the table at the man who would soon become his in the most intimate of ways, he realized his family was just about to grow and he couldn't be more amused.

_~ Atem ~_

Growing up with the brother and cousin he had, Atem was used to being on the receiving end of intense looks so he was capable of ignoring the addition of one more, silently picking away at his meal though he had little appetite. It wasn't that he hadn't known this was coming (despite whatever Yami liked to believe, he was _not_ a complete idiot), but that he had tried to pretend it wouldn't anyway.

He liked being able to do things his way at his own pace and, lifting his dark gaze to the amethyst one focused entirely on him, he knew that his freedom was just as good as gone now. Those were the eyes of a captor and now, he was the rabbit frozen in their sights.

Though he could feel Yami glancing at him worriedly, it took him several more moments to gather enough of himself to look away from that hypnotizing gaze. Turning his head towards Yami, he smiled slowly to indicate he was fine though it was obvious he felt some sort of distress and decided his plate was the only safe place to look so he took the time to study it diligently.

Atem didn't want to be married, he was still young and had an entire life ahead of him. He still hadn't explored all the secret passages in the temple and he hadn't found the black panther said to be good luck. There were so many things he wanted to do but they were now dreams as distant as the stars that blanketed the sky during the night. Now, why did he have to be born a prince again?

_~ Yugi ~_

Yugi liked games very much and he often treated life, war and even his relationships as if they were part of a game. His days were spent playing various different games from various lands and, though his council thought him entirely bat-crazy, his methods had been proven extremely effective. His people saw him as something out of the legends and his charismatic leadership had made him widely revered.

However, there remained the fact that people tended to forget things, and they were sometimes important things. Over the years, the people had forgotten several such important facts. They had either forgot or chose not to remember that he was _the_ king that the _Violet Eye_ had sworn complete allegiance to only hours after his inauguration. They had forgotten that he was the king that walked onto the soil stained by thirteen years of war and _crushed_ the opposing side single handed.

And they had forgotten that despite his benevolence towards his people, he was a man capable of destroying entire countries with only the power of his mind.

To those of Millennium, he was a powerful and kind king. To those outside of Millennium, he was the _Thousand Year King_, who would rule the world for a thousand years on the influence of his reputation alone.

It was inevitable that most were eventually forced to acknowledge Yugi as a man to be feared, but he was still human. No matter how one revered him or where, Yugi was still a human being and, while he had nearly forgotten that himself, the defiant gaze of his new bride awoke the human emotion of desire within him. He absently wondered how long it would take him to banish that defiance – how long it would be until he was bored.

_~ Yami ~_

Unlike his brother, Yami was cursed with a weak constitution and had been raised away from the wild outdoors under his mother's watchful eye. It just so turned out to be that his mother was a very strong woman with a determined will and a spark in her eyes that could make her king cower like a common fool. She had passed on several of these traits to her sickly son along with her keen ability to adapt.

If it was something capable of being taught, then Yami could learn it and very well _master_ it too. Though his brother was the adventurous one of the pair, that wasn't to say that Yami didn't know the ins and outs of the castle like it were the back of his hand. As different as night and day they were but the fact remained that they were siblings and were startlingly alike in several ways.

One of which was Yami's reluctance towards this marriage.

He held very little faith in love, and even if he could feel something like electricity raise the hairs on his neck at the look in his fiance's eyes, it did nothing to subside the unease in his chest. This was a wedding for the benefit of both countries and he was fairly determined to keep it that way. There would be no warm fuzzies in his chest and his heart would not begin to flutter, he had no time for things like that.

_~ somewhere ~_

A young woman chuckled as she leaned back in her chair, twirling a strand of her teal hair around her finger, "Hmm, this will prove to be interesting." Her shadowed gaze flitted towards her three companions and she smiled, her lips curving sensually upward at each corner, "The prophecy has already taken affect."

Opposite of her, a blond male sat on the window sill with his head leaned back against the frame as his fingers played the strings of a harp effortlessly, "The sand has begun to flee the hourglass, time never returns once it's fled our grasp."

"Saa, does it matter?" a redhead snarled from the other side of the room where he wiped his sword clean with a dark cloth, "It's almost time we descend anyhow. If they are truly the children of the prophecy-"

He was cut off by a soft voice that emerged from a petite woman standing by the other window sill, "Let us not begin to argue now. We have several things that need to be done between now and then," her fingers gently prodded the soil of her potted plants and she turned with a graceful sweep of her green hair; "If they are our masters, we will cross that bridge when we get to it."

_**~ The Start of Something New ~**_

**| Word Count |**

_~ 3,285 ~_

**| Key word |**

_~ Deviant ~_

**| Character Count |**

_~ Six ~_

_~ King Yugi | Prince Heba | Prince Yami | Prince Atem | Lord Seth | Commander Marik ~_

**| Chapter Challenge |**

_This is my challenge to my readers. There were six characters introduceed in this chapter. For each there was a minor internal blurb to explain their stance on the current situation. Within these blurbs, there lies a single word that summarizes their mood. Can anyone pick out all six? Only one word for each character! Winners will be announced in the following chapter (if anyone attempts) and get a special boon (optional)._

**| Author Base |**

_~ Any questions or reviews will be responded to here later on ~_


	2. Sand of an Hour Glass

_**~ Worth a Thousand Years of Memory ~**_

**| Summary |**

_They were Kings but all men are created equal beneath the stars. Their destiny had been penned long before they were born and now they were called to fulfill their duty. The Millennium palace is now tense with anticipation. With their enemies lurking just around corners, this sacred matrimony will be a millennium legend._

**| Rating/Genre |**

_Written for a teenage audience_

_Fallen under the genres of fantasy, romance, action, possibly hurt/comfort, suspense and some mystery_

**| Pairing(s) |**

_Yugi x Yami | Heba (oc) x Atem | Marik x Akefia (Thief King Bakura) | Seth (Seto) x Jounouchi | Ryou x ? (secret)_

_**~ Chapter One ~**_

**| Warnings |**

_Alternate universe, homosexual relationships, alpha/beta theme, original plot, male pregnancy, mental suppression, societal dominance, sociopath criminals, overt formality, out of character behavior, (more to be added along the way)_

**| Author's Note |**

_Sooooo, those of you who have come here in search of a full loaded romance can back away slowly right now. This chapter will (hopefully) show you that I am going to dive headstrong into the action. This is not a dark story but it will have some blood shed and eventually some heavy duty warfare._

_**~ Sand of an Hour Glass ~**_

"Tsukio!" the name was hissed none too gently by one of the few betas amongst the soldier recruits which were an increasingly rare sight to behold, a young male by the name of Nagaku. "Don't you dare even think about it, idiot!" his ocean blue eyes narrowed in on one of the obstinate alphas at his side as he tucked a strand of long black hair behind an ear, "Don't pick your fights prematurely."

Rolling pale eyes of mercury at his childhood companion, Tsukio waved his hand dismissively towards him but still pocketed the dart he'd been aiming at the back of Ushio's head which bobbed up and down only a few strides ahead of them. "You're no fun, Naga, I could easily take him down," even if Ushio was taller than him by two heads and a neck, the giant only knew how to toss his weight around and not much else. It made him a rather easy target on the field and it was near irresistible to take aim, especially with his higher-than-thou attitude and sheer greed for all things money.

Letting a thin eyebrow arch high into his hairline as they finally completed their twentieth lap around the barrack buildings, Nagaku chortled humorlessly towards the sky and shook his head in exasperation, "I don't care if you damn well could, Tsukio. You're taking this a little too lightly. Don't make a scene or the commander may just boot you right on back to the academy. You know better, even the _stupid_ ones know better." He spotted something in the corner of his eye and sighed tiredly through his nose, "Or at least I should have hoped that the idiots knew better than to mess around with our commander."

"Hah?" Tsukio followed his friend's bitter gaze out of confusion and nearly stumbled over his own feet as he simultaneously burst into laughter. "Wow! Unibrow really is an idiot!" this was said with complete disregard to what he himself had been planning only a few minutes beforehand and it gained him an incredulous look from Nagaku. "Hey," he poked the beta's cheek indignantly as they powered forward with an extra boost of speed, "At least I didn't say I wanted to challenge our commander head on!"

Watching over his shoulder as Ushio slowed to a walk, Nagaku couldn't stem the heartfelt pity that washed over him in time and winced as the sound of metal clashing against stone echoed out from the training hall soon after. "I should hope not," he glared towards Tsukio warningly but only received a laugh in response, "I simply cannot see what would possess someone to even try. Our commander is _the_ Violet Eye, he's not likely to lower his guard any time soon."

"Heh," a soldier Nagaku had never seen before jogged up beside them and fell into pace with a perplexed frown, "I've been hearing that all over the place. I get that he's got purple eyes and all, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"Purple eyes are rare in these parts since they're mostly prominent in the royal line," Nagaku said this while glaring furiously at Tsukio when the blond haired alpha only began to laugh even harder at something only the other man could find funny, "and that's really just the shortened version." Giving up on his friend for the time being, Nagaku shuffled a little further from the blond making a fool of himself and sidled up stride for stride next to the silver haired newcomer. "The commander has a special innate bloodline-"

Tsukio made his way over despite the beta's attempts at shaking him off and tossed his arm over Nagaku's shoulders, interrupting with a broad smile, "There's rumors that he's the next head of the Ishtar branch of the royal family. They're the only line known for activating an enhancing magic that's slowly dying out since it can't be found anywhere else."

Shrugging off Tsukio's arm, Nagaku gave a noncommittal hum of agreement and glided gracefully around a loose rock in his path, ignoring the blond that tumbled to the ground in his place. "It supposedly skipped his parents' generation all together and so far he's the last Ishtar to successfully activate the all seeing _Eyes of an Eagle_."

"I think he activated sometime in the middle of the thirteen year war," Tsukio had managed to rectify his stumble and caught up rather easily though dust and a few stray leaves in his hair ruined the image of him thoughtfully stroking his chin, "Man, there's so many rumors about back then, no one could really tell you what happened during the Year of Blood."

"Tsukio, it's not the year of blood. It's the _Season of Raining Blood_," Nagaku scoffed at the blond's verification of his renowned stupidity, "Around the middle of the war, Commander Ishtar was still a mere recruit but the army was so short on personnel that they sent out academy graduate soldiers. He just happened to be one of the first few unlucky enough to make it to the battlefield only a few days after graduation. The commander of that time was killed shortly after the recruit deployment and it was reported to have happened during battle but no one can be for sure. No one really liked him anyway, since he was just another noble having bought his way up through the ranks."

Completely unfazed by his friend's jab at his inability to retain academic information, Tsukio provided towards their conversation with a wide grin of white teeth and glee, "Some say the soldiers just upped and took him out one day."

"Our commander took control afterward," Nagaku sent Tsukio another warning glance and missed the frown that crossed the unknown soldier's features, "With no communication between headquarters and the front line, he managed to completely restructure the scam of a strategy put in place by the previous commander then found a way to turn the entire war around, ending the year of losses with a success. Upon his return to base, he became official commander of the forces and became the first ever to reach that achievement in under a decade since his graduation."

Their almost forgotten audience cleared his throat to catch their attention and Nagaku turned to eye him inquisitively. "So he's got this eagle's eye thing, right? What exactly does it do?" The overwhelming stench of alpha was breezed off for a moment and Nagaku realized for the first time that the dark skinned male was also a beta.

Shaking his head, Nagaku remembered how their tangent started and nodded as they rounded the corner on their sixty-seventh lap, "Ah, right. Once it's activated, he can see just about everything from strengths and weaknesses to seeing through walls and shifting his perspective." He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder towards Tsukio, "I mean he took one look at that idiot and could tell he'd sprained his ankle two months before graduation."

Nodding enthusiastically, Tsukio laughed as he sheepishly scratched the back of his neck, "His eyes glow, ya know? It's kinda freaky but awesome at the same time. You think his eyes look purple now... you should see it when he's got it activated fully."

Patting Tsukio on the shoulder in a mockingly placating gesture, Nagaku rolled his eyes slowly, "You think anything to do with magic is cool." While he knew it was just his friend's way of coping with the fact that he couldn't use magic, he had been subjected to Tsukio's spiel on the "awesomeness" of magic so many times that he really just wanted to avoid the topic all together. "The commander himself is formidable though. Even with his eyes deactivated, he's practically unbeatable. Once they're activated... he's on a whole other level."

"The Eagle is invincible on the defensive front," Tsukio seemed to shed his careless persona as a serious expression broke over his features, "Just like regular magic, it comes in pairs though. The Eagle was defensive... and the Snake Eye was the offensive. Millennium used to house both of them way back in the day but the only line known for activating the snake bloodline belongs to the kingdom of Ir as of six generations ago."

"Well," the silver haired male at their side turned a gaze warm like molten chocolate on Nagaku and his voice lowered a pitch to match, "He is certainly something to look at, no?"

Fighting down the blush that threatened to overtake his features, Nagaku struggled to keep his pace at the blunt words and swiftly averted his eyes to the path under foot, "Y-yeah, he's called the _warrior beauty_ in the underground. Not many would dare say it to his face without fear of punishment though."

"Hmm," the dark skinned beta acknowledged thoughtfully and drifted a little farther from them but didn't break their continuously steady pace, his gaze remaining locked on the route ahead.

Tsukio had taken that time to toss his arm over Nagaku's shoulder once gain, pinching the blue eyed male's flushed cheeks teasingly, "You're like an innocent little virgin, Naga, stuttering over something like that." He bounced away with a laugh to evade the elbow that would have found purchase in his ribcage otherwise, "Mah, mah, no need to get violent."

It was safe to say that Nagaku spent their remaining laps hissing at Tsukio every time the blond alpha attempted to get closer than an arm length to him. They may be inseparable friends but that was something equally condemnable as it was commendable (he was convinced, no matter what anyone else may say in argument).

_~ inside ~_

Marik stared at the recruit by his feet apathetically and he turned slowly to peel the ruined shirt from his back, lifting the torn fabric over his head smoothly. The ripple of muscle down his spine highlighted all the scars that littered his dark skin, the dry evidence of the countless wounds his body had sustained over the years. Some were ages old and others were only acquired in the recent years, in fact, his back was _so_ covered in them that the crisscross pattern of scar tissue overtook the expanse of his naturally rich skin tone.

Like a pair of wings slowly unfurling from his back, a tattoo seemed to flicker in and out of focus depending on the way light hit the special ink. It spread over his scars in a mirage of symbols and letters from a language none of the soldiers could read or even identify. Here and there, a scar skimmed over the ink but it appeared rather unscathed otherwise and marked it to be newer than most of the age old wounds carved forever into his back.

Each head of the Ishtar family had been made to bare this mark at their coming of age and he had been no exception, even if he hadn't wished for the title in the first place.

Closing his eyes with a deep inhale, he focused on his breath instead of the world around him and let his mind empty itself of all thought on his third exhale, his eyes reopening with a new sliver of light taking residence within them. His irises flickered brightly like a lit flame and glittered closer and closer to a pale lavender. Nudging the dropped sword on the floor with his shoe, Marik spared no second glance towards the awkwardly placed recruit near the entrance to the training hall.

Pivoting on one foot, he strode forward and began the tedious process of moving various equipment from the center of the room to the sides to clear a large space for his choice of lesson for the day. He moved gracefully but strongly with no excess movement to clutter the efficiency of his quick work. He'd sent the whole lot of recruits out for a double of their so far regular workout regime so he wasn't entirely worried for time, he simply wanted to get it finished so he could move on to the paper part of the job.

"I know you are awake," he stated bluntly all of a sudden to the seemingly empty room as he finished moving the heavy weights to the very back of the room, "You may as well get up." Striding over to the bench where he had left his clipboard, Marik lifted it up and made a small note on the third page with a pen he produced from a pocket. "I have quite a few questions to ask you, such as..." he hummed thoughtfully and hesitated in putting his pen to paper once again, suddenly lifting his hand over his shoulder instead, "What exactly do you think this will accomplish?"

The tip of his quill pen was poised dangerously close to gouging into Ushio's left eye socket, the taller alpha having been only seconds from bringing the sword down on his head. The sword once again fell from Ushio's lax grasp and clattered to the ground only seconds before he tumbled to the ground himself, eyes agape in shock, "But-How?"

"Do not think that I got where I am today by being ignorant of my surroundings," Marik informed coolly as he lowered his arm and proceeded to mark his note on the paper in his fluid scrawling handwriting then turned to face the recruit that needed to be taken down a peg. "This is not the academy's playground, here you are the weakest link on the chain of command," for whatever reason it may be, a certain glow brightened up his eyes as he lifted his gaze from the clipboard and they shone so bone chillingly cold, "Here, you are _absolutely nothing_."

His voice almost always contained a monotonous undertone and it rarely ever shifted, but now his voice wasn't so much flat as it was layered with ice so thick that Ushio found himself entirely unable to move under the weight of Marik's overpowering presence. "Do not give me a reason to teach you a lesson, Tetsu Ushio," Marik's gaze bore into the petrified recruit's and he watched as the boy in a man's body was dragged down into his subconscious, "You will not survive here very long if you think you could possibly get away with challenging me."

He received no verbal or otherwise response as his subject had already lost that capability, Ushio having the chance to think one last thought before fading into an endless blackness which seemed far more terrifying that it used to be. _His commander was a bloody monster... and he had made a very big mistake._

Watching impassively until Ushio's limp form toppled over entirely, Marik turned around and pressed his pen to his lip for a moment and quickly jotted something else down, his voice low as he murmured to the air, "Good. It appears we've come to an acceptable understanding. Now let's keep it that way."

"Commander!" the doors to the training hall were thrown open and Marik's silence shattered by the lone soldier that speed-walked inside, his brown eyes roving over the entire room before resting on Marik himself. The unease in his dark eyes seemed to wane just at touch at the sight of his old companion and his long stride carried him forth swiftly, "We have a problem sir."

Studying the young lieutenant's face, Marik frowned at what he found there. He and Honda had bene fighting side by side for as long as he could remember, since before they'd graduated the academy, and he was rather familiar with that expression and that fact that it was reserved for cases at a level of SNAFU and above. "What's the situation, Lieutenant?"

"Cells five, thirteen and twenty-two have been compromised, sir." Honda answered promptly with a frown deep enough to cause a canyon to form between his eyebrows, "The guards on duty seemingly fell asleep. Six out of the ten in that particular wing were found in a... gruesome pile of limbs and blood. The other four have been detained in the detention cell with Healer Ishtar on their case, sir. How should we proceed?"

Inhaling sharply at the briefing, Marik closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "All fucked up indeed." Eyes snapping open with a hard glint, he lurched back into his element and tucked his clipboard under his arm, gazing sternly at his closest friend and most trusted lieutenant, "Here is what we will do. I want you to find the head of the king's detail and bring him up to speed. Instruct him to inform the king of the situation." Snatching his engraved scabbard from the bench, he slid it into place at his hip and strode towards the door, "I want all men on standby looking for these prisoners, lieutenant. They were put in high security cells for a damn good reason and if I have to hunt them down myself, then so be it, but they are _not_ to leave the castle walls alive. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" Honda lifted his hand to his forehead in a jolted salute at his commander's sudden string of orders and strode along side him as they approached the doorway, looking out over the academy graduates. "I swear they've lowered the bar since we attended the academy if this is what we've got to work with."

Grunting in agreement, Marik shrugged his shoulders, "What can I say? I just don't know what they're teaching these kids anymore. I got complaints from merely a hundred laps this morning. I'll have to get these pansies up to par before things get too far out of control, there's a rough wind blowing and I know whatever the future has in store will strike soon."

"Dammit, don't say that," Honda pleaded mournfully and hung his head, "Ryuji's going to kill me if I have to go off to war after just tying the knot. Can't a man catch a break around here?"

Sympathetically patting Honda's shoulder, Marik lightly shoved him in the right direction to do as he'd commanded, "Tell Ryuji I said hello. Now go, we haven't time to spare and three killers to find." Striding in the opposite direction, Marik looked out over the recruits that were still completing the warm up and lifted two fingers to his lips. A shrill whistle immediately sounded out over the grounds loud enough to stop every man in his tracks.

_~ in the palace ~_

A tall young man donned with a mop of sunshine yellow hair and an easy smile strode down the winding halls of the Millennium palace from ingrained memory alone, ease borne from walking the same path many times beforehand. Captain Jounouchi Katsuya, or just Jou as he preferred, was the head of the security team designated strictly for protecting the King and other nobles that were present in the palace. His title had been a hard earned one, especially for a man with his sort of origins.

Having been born in what could only be called the darkest slums of Millennium's red light district, he had been raised by a group of women with backbones that were insulted at the mere mention of the word "lady" and proud of being able to take care of themselves no matter the situation. Both he and his sister, his beautiful but incredibly _strong_ little sister, were taught the art of stealth and thieving by only the best. His family was unorthodox and consisted of several mothers, one mama, two big sisters and a little brother, all of whom he adored and cherished dearly.

Of course, it was inevitable that he had few of the social requirements for the weight of his rank but whatever he lacked in the way of politics, he more than made up double in enthusiasm and the copious amounts of energy he poured into his job. He wasn't ashamed of where he came from but he was damn proud of where he'd gotten in life too.

His nature as a child of the moon also garnered harsh looks and the higher ranked nobles often looked down upon him as though he were nothing more than a common beast to be slandered. They seemed to think that just because his ears were on _top_ of his head rather than at the _sides_ that he couldn't hear their mocking whispers. Still, he bore their resentment with a carefree smile and a careless attitude that may or may not be merely a mask for the brilliant mind that lie underneath.

Truthfully, they weren't his problem. All he had to do was make sure none of them died on his watch. After all, nobody could say anything if he stepped in only after they'd been roughed up a bit, right?

Striding into the lounge room that doubled as a makeshift meeting room for his team, Jou's blond ears flattened against his head for a moment then perked up as they picked up one of the voices he'd been looking for and he lifted his head. "Dahlia!" his smile broadened to overtake his features at the sight of the only female on his team, "Just the woman I was looking for."

Dahlia stopped practicing her swings and sheathed her dual swords in the scabbards strapped to either side of her hips. Her black hair floated for a moment then settled down against her back as her momentum faded and she tightened her ponytail before turning to him, eyes of green like uncut emeralds meeting his gaze evenly. Her eyes never failed to bring a wave of nostalgia upon him as they always reminded him of the leafy overhang at his favorite hiding place as a child.

"Ahhh, boss?" she tilted her head slightly as she stepped forward and a scar came to light from just under her curved lips to curl down under her chin, "Aren't I always the woman you're lookin' for? Or is there some lady around here that I don't know about?"

Some people questioned why they got along like long lost brothers, but he only had to wait for her to open her mouth and their answer would quite literally slap them in the face. She was a hot blooded woman with a sharp tongue and they'd been forged of similar backgrounds.

She and her brother had grown up in the carefree atmosphere that came with being a small town on the outskirts of Millennium's agricultural fields. Fishing was their village's main trade and peace had reigned by the river side for many years. That peace had been shattered however when a raid destroyed the village and their parents were ruthlessly killed. Later they had been found as slaves in a black market sale Jou had been ordered to shut down. Yugi had taken them in much like he had saved Jou all those many years ago.

Waving off her statement like one would a particularly irritating fly, Jou looked around for her near literal other half and pursed his lips in a frown, "Where's your brother? I have a new assignment for the both of you."

"I'm right here," the sleep laced voice came from behind him and he spun around to see Dahlia's older brother sit up from where he'd been stretched out over one of the sofas. Like his sister, Helios had black hair though it was cropped very short with just the front spiked and his eyes were also a vibrant green. Though his skin was considerably darker than hers, their familial resemblance was considerably strong in their facial features and they looked uncannily alike despite the three years that separated them.

Jou had to resist the urge to clap his hands in glee and instead smiled radiantly, "Wonderful, let's go. I'll brief you on the way." Herding the siblings out of the lounge after Helios grabbed his sword, Jou's ears flicked one way then the other and he shuffled up front to lead them towards the east wing. "I'm sure you both know that the princes of Sen got here yesterday," he sighed as they both nodded diligently, "It's just our luck that there was a jailbreak last night. Three of the high security cells were compromised. We've got two serial killers and a dark arts master on the loose."

"Let me guess," Dahlia said with a roll of her eyes and a cheeky smile, "We're being assigned to babysitting duty?" She laughed at the sour look that passed over her captain's features at her choice in terminology, "That's what it is, ain't it?"

"Just be careful, alright?" Jou turned his dark eyes on her and their reputable marble like shine was snuffed out for once as he grew serious, "This is our King's bride to be. It will be all of our hides if even one hair on their heads is put out of place. We can't have _anything_ happen to them. Right now, they are the top priority until we have recaptured the prisoners."

Helios laid a hand on his sister's shoulder to reign her in before she went too far, "Yeah, we'll make sure nothing happens." Their lives had ended the day they were dragged away from their home and their futures ripped away from them. In all senses, they had died as living beings and they had no hope left. Yugi had given them back that light and the strength to keep going. He'd given them life again and they'd chosen to use it to repay the favor.

Glancing back at Helios, Jou held his gaze for a long time then smiled as though he could read what the man was thinking. Though if he thought about it, his captain was probably the only one that would be able to understand it. "Good, cause you two are the best at shadowing," he turned forward as they reached the guest wing, "Dahlia, I'm putting you in charge of the elder prince. I've got different a person in mind for the younger one but I'm not sure if his post will be freed up for a while. Helios, due to protocol you're assigned to the lord."

Before they could answer, he'd already sped up and to approach the foreign dignitaries and they were forced to nearly run to keep up. "Good morning, prince Yami, lord Seth," Jou rolled his shoulders back as he offered the greeting, his gaze automatically flashing towards the other prince's bedchambers, "Where's prince Atem?"

Yami tilted his head towards the doors that led out to the inner courtyard that sat between the guest wing and the part of the east wing that was reserved just for the royal family, "My brother decided to take a stroll earlier this morning. He left a while before breakfast arrived but I'm sure his stomach will lead him back sometime soon."

_~ inner courtyard ~_

It may have been seen as eccentric for someone of royal status but Heba genuinely enjoyed working in the gardens. When he wasn't at work, he was most likely out in the courtyard working with one of the plants or even just reading. Yugi and Heba were very similar people when it came down to their ideals and the image they had for their kingdom, making them extremely powerful as a ruling pair, but they were also very different. Yugi coped with his stress though his games and Heba had his gardens.

He had taken over the inner courtyard the moment he'd first laid eyes on it when he was five and ever since it had been an evolving project that always seemed to reflect his frame of mind. Currently the design was simplistic with several paths leading from the center of the courtyard to various doorways or hidden spaces. The center held a water fountain and a gazebo which had been made by using various breeds of roses to form the walls.

To one side, an unfinished pavilion rose up out of the greenery to overlook the entire courtyard and this was where Heba had been for most of the morning. Stooping down to his ankles, he gently prodded the rich soil of the rose bed he had only just planted a few days before to see if it needed to be watered. He brushed his hands off when it came up suitably moist and stood with his face tilted toward the sky which seemed all the more blue because of expanse of green that surrounded him.

The soft rustling of leaves brought his attention to an intruder in his gardens and he rolled his head to the side to see whom it was. Warm shades of gold, red and black filled his vision from where it spilled out around his fiance's face and he blinked in surprise.

Having had enough of being cooped inside, Atem had meant to only take a walk in the gardens but it had proved to be much bigger than he had expected and he'd gotten lost along the way. However, stepping off the obscure path he'd taken towards the pavilion he had taken in hopes of finding his way from there, he realized that maybe it was more than just coincidence that he had gotten lost.

One of his feet snagged on the branches of a rose bush and he stumbled slightly to catch his balance but his eyes were much more focused on the man that stood in front of him. "Uh..." he shifted and offered an awkward greeting to stop an uncomfortable silence from taking root, "Good morning?"

"Good morning," a hint of Heba's curved lips could just barely be seen from under his dark mask and he turned slowly with a soft chuckle, offering his hand to his fiance as assistance, "You look like you could use a hand there."

"Ah," Atem broke his flustered staring to look down at where his foot was trapped in the thorny branches and hesitantly slid his hand into Heba's, unsure of whether accepting his help was really that good of an idea, "Yeah, thanks." He was suddenly tugged free and his eyes flew wide open as he began to tumble forward, squeezing shut soon after as he headed face first for the incomplete foundation of the pavilion.

Extending his other arm, Heba easily caught the free spirited prince around the waist and pulled him back into his chest, setting him back on his feet. "Watch your step," he warned belatedly as he reached forward to pluck a leaf from where it had gotten tangled in the beta's hair, "I haven't fixed that part yet so the ground's slightly uneven."

Warmth flooded Atem's face immediately but he thanked all the deities for small blessings. His skin tone made it difficult for much of any color to be seen and it at least preserved some of his dignity. He ran his fingers through his hair in an attempt to straighten it but the lengthy strands only served to spike up even higher in every direction and he gave up with a lax shrug of his shoulders. Turning instead to look out over the garden, he had the vague sensation as though something were being lifted off his shoulders and he said slowly, "I hadn't expected there to be a place like this here."

"Oh?" Heba turned to face him with a slightly puzzled furrow etched into his brow, confusion glistening in his eyes, "and why not?"

Frowning himself, Atem tilted his head to the side and looked up at the sky in search of some answer, "I don't really know why. I suppose I just had the impression that Millennium focused on the military more than anything."

"We do," Heba confirmed as he studied his fiance's face and continued on as he felt the need to expand upon it, "but that is because Millennium is smaller than most of the lands that surround us. Our focus is geared towards bettering our military so it will not falter under any attack, but we still have lives outside of the military."

Later if asked what they were like, Atem wouldn't remember much about the garden itself for he found that he simply couldn't take his eyes off the man that he was arranged to marry. It wasn't something that could be described in words easily. He couldn't bring himself to hate this unfamiliar man despite the untold future that intertwined their fates together.

After all, his fiance made a rather striking image standing beneath the open sunlight with his face turned upward and hair rolling freely in waves of black and violet down his back from the hood that had been tipped off his head. Like his own, golden locks fell to frame Heba's face and brought even more focus to the cloth mask that hid more than half of his face from view. Atem was curious to see what lie underneath but he knew it would only be a matter of time, marriage was a life long commitment so he had time.

"Atem?" Heba peered over at him with a touch of worry riding the undercurrent of his voice, "You seem a little out of it." While he didn't mind the silence, the suddenness of it had confused him and the distant look in Atem's eyes did raise a few warning bells at the forefront of his mind.

Shaking himself free of his daze, Atem scratched the back of his neck with a small sheepish smile, "Ah, I was lost in my thoughts there for a moment, did you say something?" He shifted awkwardly at having been caught staring and he averted his gaze to the expanse of green before them.

Though he wasn't entirely ignorant of what his fiance was thinking, Heba found it far more amusing to just let it go and chuckled softly instead as the glaze left Atem's eyes. "I asked if you had stopped for breakfast before coming this way."

At the mention of food, Atem's stomach made a distinct flip flop in his abdomen and a loud rumble of protest came from the empty organ as it was reminded of its need to digest _something_. Blinking at the ferociousness of his own hunger, Atem flushed, "Well, I suppose that answers that."

"I agree," amusement glittered in Heba's eyes like a sliver of light had been trapped within them and he stepped down from the pavilion, turning to extend his hand to his intended, "It just so happens that I have not eaten yet either. I will walk you down to the dining hall."

As they strolled side by side in silence that was surprisingly not disconcerting, Heba's smile slowly began to fade as his honed eyes picked up on something that made unease rise within him. Since they'd left the courtyard, he had to see any of the guards that were supposed to be stationed along the hallway. With a gentle but firm hand on Atem's bicep, Heba stopped walking as a pair of soldiers approached them from the opposite end of the hall, neither of them ones he recognized.

_~ barracks ~_

"Nagaku, look," Tsukio whispered towards his best friend and pointed a hand at the silhouette just barely visible in the distance standing by the training hall, "Don't you think that looks suspicious?" He edged closer towards the open window until he nearly leaned over the sill.

Without turning from his desk, his dark haired roommate pulled him back into the room by the hem of his shirt and snapped angrily, "Don't you dare do something stupid-!" He was cut off by Tsukio's hand being slapped over his mouth.

"Quit being such a downer," Tsukio replied drily but his voice quickly turned serious, "Listen to me, Naga. This guy is never going to get caught if we don't do something about it right now. I know we don't want to blow our cover but if we don't decide something soon... somebody is going to die tonight."

_**~ Sand of an Hour Glass ~**_

**| Word Count |**

_~ 6,011 ~_

_~ Total: 9,296 ~_

**| Key word |**

_~ Gruesome ~_

**| Character Count |**

_~ Six ~_

_~ Recruits Nagaku & Tsukio | Knight Akefia | Captain Jounouchi | Soldiers Dahlia & Helios ~_

**| Chapter Challenge |**

_The answers to last week's challenge are as follows: Marik – Frustration, Seth – Miserable, Heba – Amused, Atem – Distressed, Yugi – Desire, Yami – Reluctance. Only one challenger but a winner! **Cupid-in-Disguise** won chapter one's challenge and is the owner of Dahlia and Helios._

_This week my challenge is simple. For the six characters I named in the "character count" there is a single word that I used in the description of their eyes that compares them to something other than a color! To win, you must name all five! Five, not six, because I am counting Dahlia and Helios together. Winners will be announced in the next chapter (if someone gives it a try) and you get a one of a kind boon (optional)! Good luck!_

**| Author Base |**

_~ Hehe, thank you, Juliet28, I'm glad you like it. ~_


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